NFC Notes: Baker Mayfield, Bryce Young, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles praised QB Baker Mayfield, who posted a perfect passer rating against the Packers on Sunday, becoming the first opposing quarterback to do so at Lambeau Field.

“He’s meant everything,” Bowles said, via the team website. “From a mental standpoint to a quarterback standpoint, making plays. From a toughness standpoint, from a leadership standpoint, he’s done everything. He’s checked all the boxes. He’s doing all the right things now and I can’t say enough about him.”

Falcons

Falcons HC Arthur Smith is seemingly on the hot seat following a loss to the Panthers and was asked by reporters if he still has belief that he is the right guy for the job in Atlanta.

“In any job you take, you gotta have a lot of self-belief. You know, this is the cycle of it. There are consequences when you lose so these are natural questions, right,” Smith said, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “It’s NFL 101. Your job is to win games. There’s a lot of things that … everybody’s situation is different. There’s a lot of things that we’ve dealt with early on but ultimately, you know, the job is to win games and get into the playoffs. We’ll still have that opportunity. It’ll look like a long shot but each one of these years has been different. We’ve got three different teams. Movement at some critical spots, but your job is to win. We’ve made a lot of good … but I’ve got a ton of self-belief.”

Panthers

Panthers QB Bryce Young spoke about his game-winning drive that set up K Eddy Pineiro for the go-ahead field goal, saying that it felt great to help the team get their second win of the season.

“Ah, it feels great. It feels great,” Young told reporters, via PanthersWire.com. “These are a lot more enjoyable after wins. Feel great. Where else would you rather be? Opportunity to go down and win the game. For me, there’s no other group I’d rather do it with. We all have faith in each other. We all believe in each other. It was just a great opportunity.”